Corn and Orchids - explaining pollination

In this unusual video, I try to use corn to explain pollination and embryo formation in orchids. Both are classified as monocots. You may learn a little about corn and orchids, and think about orchids the next time that you eat sweet corn!

[@thewarroom-anendtimeschurc8323]

Very well done. Great explanation and video discussion of the process. Thank you!

[@plantpropagator]

Thanks for the comment! This video was a little tough to organize - I wanted to mention that each maize plant produces millions of dust like pollen and talk more about similarities and differences but there was too much other information to present and left that out.

[@Naturamorpho]

I love this! I once made a back of the envelope calculation and came to the conclusion that an orchid seed capsule can have as many seeds inside as a 25 to 50 kg bag of dry corn seeds! Maybe even more! Thanks!

[@plantpropagator]

Wow - that is interesting - I am so glad that you enjoyed the video - this was a little different for the orchid community!

[@OrchidMarcus]

Awesome video and great detail! I thought Catasetum produce separate male and female flowers (not speaking from experience)?

[@plantpropagator]

Yes - Catasetums produce separate male and female flowers on the same plant - usually not at the same time. One time, they are male, another time, they are female. It is more common to have male flowers which is nice because those are usually a little more showy. They are a little weird in a few ways. Thanks for your comment and for watching!